


Back to Back

by ficletsandthelike (schulia_jet)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 21:38:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14839625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schulia_jet/pseuds/ficletsandthelike
Summary: Back to back, they were unstoppable.Torn apart, they would be too.





	Back to Back

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first prompt I’d ever received that didn’t have Lance as the main Suffering Boi ™ … I've never designated myself as a Langst writer, so I think that’s absolutely hilarious. Anyways, enjoy the fic!

Lance’s jetpack let out a burst of energy, propelling him safely along the side of the Galra ship. Pidge landed alongside him and activated her bayard to slice a human-sized hole in the hull. As they flew into the dimly lit hallway, Keith’s voice crackled over the comms.

“I’m near the central control room, but the place is swarming with soldiers. Lance, Pidge, I need you here now.”

“Alright, no need to be pushy,” Lance retorted. He could practically hear Keith rolling his eyes and grinned. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand!” he said, activating his bayard with a flourish.

The red and green paladins snuck past guards, following a small holographic map to a blinking dot giving Keith’s location. Lance spotted a black tuft of hair and motioned to Pidge. They peered around the corner to see Keith battling against countless robots, clearly outnumbered.

“Definitely could have waited a tick or two, mullet,” Lance yelled exasperatedly. He rolled out of cover and shot a couple of Galra down, watching Pidge slice a few in the corner of his eye. “They already know we’re here, so there’s no more point in surprise,” Keith shouted in defense.

Lance and Keith ended up back-to-back, red and blue specks peeking out of a mass of violet. Pidge sprinted inside the control room and broke the locking mechanism; the duo only had to hold off for a dobash until she could shut off the power. 

Energy bullets arced around the room, and Lance could scarcely tell friend from foe. He shot the weapon out of an aiming soldier’s hands, then sent another blast through the helmet. Fighter after fighter fell to his gun; time seemed to slow until he was darting through the crowd and finishing them before they had a chance to react. Lance’s pulse pounded in his ears, sweat clinging to the glass of his helmet. Finally, the lights in the space faded to a dim glow and all the remaining Galra fell. Lance let himself breathe a sigh of relief and heard Pidge cut her way through the door, then gasp.

He whipped around to see a motionless heap of red armor on the floor. Terror crawled up Lance’s spine, dropping the temperature twenty degrees. He limped over and fell to his knees, quietly shifting Keith onto his back. Lance gagged.

A mess of blood stained the black lining over the black paladin’s stomach, edging a ragged hole dyed even darker. Keith groaned and cracked open his eyes, immediately squinting in pain.

“Oh, no no no no no… Okay, this is fine, we can just…” Lance swallowed hard and looked at Pidge.

“Is he gonna…?” Pidge echoed both of their thoughts. Lance shook his head to clear it and fixed her with a steely glare. “No way. “Get to your lion and tell Coran to prepare a pod, now.” She nodded and ran down the corridor.

Lance’s confidence dissolved at the sound of Keith attempting to sit up and yelping in agony. “I know it hurts, but… I need you to stay with me, Keith. Hey, look at me.” Keith managed to shift his gaze to Lance. “Okay, great. This is really going to suck, but I need to lift you and get you to my lion.” The injured boy gave a faint nod. Lance squeezed his eyes shut and hoisted up his friend, grimacing at the cry that ensued. He made his way through the winding maze slowly.

He nearly collapsed at the sight of Red. Black had followed Green back to the castle, so Lance had to hurry so they could escape without notice. Once inside, he gently laid Keith onto the cool metal. Lance sat in the pilot’s seat, triggering the control panel and letting the lion launch itself into space.

Then he cried.

It was Lance’s fault this had happened. If he hadn’t been so focused on himself, if he had just paid more attention, Keith would be fine, and they would have been able to destroy another fleet. Because of Lance, his teammate could die.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft rasp. “It’s not your fault,” Keith whispered. Lance scrubbed at his cheeks and pretended to fiddle with a dial; he didn’t realize the other teen was still awake. “It pretty much is. I didn’t have your back,” he said, failing to disguise the crack in his tone. “You were incredible-” Keith cut off in a coughing fit, then continued. “I thought you were doing fine, so I separated from you and got myself surrounded. I really didn’t think it through, as usual.”

“You don’t have to patronize me. I know I’m not that good of a fighter,” Lance responded. “What?” Keith muttered. “That’s not true at all. You always seem to be there when I’m not. I need…” he trailed off. Lance waited, but Keith had lost consciousness. Red landed in the bay, and he carried his friend to Coran for medical care.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The cryopod opened with a puff of steam. Keith fell forward, looking up to see that Lance had caught him with an indescribable expression. The taller boy smiled, and Keith found himself returning the gesture.

“I got you, buddy.”


End file.
